The Beach Waterfalls of Central Coast California
The west coast of the United States is not a place where one expects cliffs, the beach, and waterfalls to all be in one place. Most California beaches, at least, are near flat river valleys, coastal plains, or dry cliffs. Northern California, Oregon, and Washington beaches tend to be near forested areas, and waterfalls must be an occasional occurrence in these areas, but I have not happened upon one. So, this is unique and quite a striking sight. …At least for me and my knowledge of the coast, so I approached this place with that sense of wonder.
This post is about a stop I made at McWay Waterfall, while traveling through Big Sur, Carmel, and the Bay Area. There are a few waterfalls in the area, but on this trip I chose this one. This is located within the larger Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
The waterfall is in beautiful surroundings, emptying into McWay Cove
of the Pacific Ocean. Crowds gather at sunset here.
The Big Sur area of California is a dynamic place. California State Highway 1 (known as Pacific Coast Highway or Pacific Highway in urban areas) hugs the coast for the most part for the north-to-south length of California. It, or remnants of it that are now local streets, spans from San Diego Harbor, coastal Orange County, beach cities in Los Angeles county, Malibu, Van Ness Street and the Golden Gate bridge in San Franciso, and other coastal areas all of the way to the Oregon border. At times it merges with the old US-101 highway. Basically, it is a venerable piece of infrastructure in California, and in this area of the state as Cabrillo Highway it hugs the cliffs with tight turns and wide vistas.
You can see previous major landslides along the route, and can see in the same places where the road has been rebuilt. And these are big drops down to the ocean from the guard rail to the water. A but unnerving when you think about it too much, so watch the scenery and enjoy it! A roadway link to the south is just reopening as of this writing (Summer 2018) after being closed for an extended period of time, due to one of the largest landslides ever experienced in the area. This is visible on internet maps in the vicinity of Mud Creek (an ironic name!) to the south of the tiny town of Gorda.
A closer look at the waterfall shows the rugged surroundings
interfacing with the beautiful surf.
Big Sur is roughly mid-point between San Luis Obispo and San Simeon (Hearst Castle location) on the south and Carmel/Monterey on the north. The trail is accessible directly from Highway 1. There is no major state park-like gate entrance, no parking lot, no refreshments. There must be some orientation point for the State Park, but I did not look for it as I wanted to do some hiking and then reach the falls by sunset, and I had mapped it out in advance anyway.
This is rugged California, with the sights right along the highway and steep cliffs. It also means there are no entrance fees. It is a short walk to the vantage points shown in the photos here. It is also a relatively flat trail, and has hand rails. Parking is on the highway or in pull-out areas. Some walking will be necessary from where you park, along the highway and sometimes partially in the travel lane, to get to the entrance to this trail.
The waterfall hits the sand as the waves ebb and flow,
occasionally engulfing the waterfall base
The trail is pretty short, from my memory, but it may continue a bit past where I stopped. It is not a place for a good hike with substantial exercise. I did that further north on a trail that climbed the hill on the inland side of the highway.
This is another great place to visit in California, if you love the dynamics of the ocean and land, along with extreme geography and amazing views. The I-5 freeway is a quick (in relative terms) route between Los Angeles and San Francisco, done in about six hours. Taking the US-101 freeway adds two to three hours, but provides access to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, both worthwhile stops including their surroundings. The same trip following Highway 1 where it exists, in its entirely, would take a whole day. Choose wisely when traveling in the area!